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Less than 50% of working-age women are in the labour market, a figure that has barely changed over the last quarter of a century, according to a new UN report launched today. Unpaid domestic and care work falls disproportionately on women, restraining their economic potential as the COVID-19 pandemic additionally affects women’s jobs and livelihoods, the report warns.
The World’s Women 2020: Trends and Statistics compiles 100 data stories that provide a snapshot of the state of gender equality worldwide. Presented on an interactive portal, the report analyses gender equality in six critical areas: population and families; health; education; economic empowerment and asset ownership; power and decision-making; and violence against women and the girl child as well as the impact of COVID-19.
“Twenty-five years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action , progress towards equal power and equal rights for women remains elusive. No country has achieved gender equality, and the COVID-19 crisis threatens to erode the limited gains that have been made. The Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and efforts to recover better from the pandemic offer a chance to transform the lives of women and girls, today and tomorrow” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Unpaid domestic and care work holding women back
While unpaid domestic and care work has intensified for both men and women during the COVID-19 pandemic, women continue to do the lion’s share. On an average day, women globally spend about three times as many hours on unpaid domestic and care work as men (4.2 hours compared to 1.7). In Northern Africa and Western Asia that gender gap is even higher, with women spending more than seven times as much as men on these activities.
This lopsided distribution of unpaid domestic and care work prevents women from participating in the labour market. In 2020, only 47% of women of working age participated in the labour market, compared to 74% of men – a gender gap that has remained relatively constant since 1995. In Southern Asia, Northern Africa and Western Asia, the number is even lower, with less than 30% of women participating in the labour market. And the pandemic is expected to exacerbate these gender disparities, as many women work in the subsectors hardest hit by COVID-19 and lockdown measures, including in paid domestic work, accommodation and food services, and the retail trade. Women also make up over 70% of workers in the health sector, therefore facing higher infection risks than men in the workplace.
In terms of power and decision making, women held only 28% of managerial positions globally in 2019 – almost the same proportion as in 1995. And only 18% of enterprises surveyed had a female Chief Executive Officer in 2020. Among Fortune 500 corporations only 7.4%, or 37 Chief Executive Officers, were women. In political life, while women’s representation in parliament has more than doubled globally, it has still not crossed the barrier of 25% of parliamentary seats in 2020. Women’s representation among cabinet ministers has quadrupled over the last 25 years, yet remains well below parity at 22%.
Women’s participation in education on the rise worldwide
The world has made substantial progress in achieving universal primary education, with girls and boys participating equally in primary education in most regions. While school closures related to COVID-19 are likely to set back progress on access to education, evidence shows that girls, once they have access to schooling, tend to do better than boys in terms of academic achievement. In tertiary education, women outnumber men, and enrolment is increasing faster for women than for men.
However, women continue to be underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, representing only slightly more than 35% of the world’s STEM graduates. Women are also a minority in scientific research and development, making up less than a third of the world’s researchers.
Violence against women and girls remains a global issue
During COVID-19 lockdowns, many women and girls have been isolated in unsafe environments where they are at heightened risk of experiencing intimate partner violence. Around one third of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner; and 18% have experienced such violence in the past 12 months. In the most extreme cases, violence against women is lethal: globally, an estimated 137 women are killed by their intimate partner or a family member every day.
While female genital mutilation is becoming less common in some countries, at least 200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to this specific form of violence across Africa and the Middle East where the practice is most prevalent.
In a sign that attitudes are changing, women’s acceptance of being beaten by their partners decreased in almost 75% of countries with data over the past seven years. But laws to address domestic violence are not yet universally available, with only 153 countries having such laws. Gaps are largest in Northern Africa, Western Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where 43% and 35% of countries respectively have not passed such laws.
Reliable and timely data are critical
Reliable, timely and disaggregated data are critically needed, particularly now as the international community responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, to effectively measure progress in achieving gender equality. Closing the data and evidence gaps through regular collection and use of gender statistics is crucial.
“I call on all countries to accelerate efforts towards the empowerment of women and girls and towards improving the evidence base to monitor progress: data gaps in the coverage of key gender topics need to be filled,” said Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. “Timeliness and comparability of data over time and across countries need to be improved, and data disaggregation and dissemination by age, sex, location and other key variables need to become a priority in order to fully measure and address intersecting inequalities, respond to crises, and ensure gender equality by 2030.”
Produced by the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the World’s Women report has been produced every five years since 1990 and provides the latest data on the state of gender equality worldwide.
Full report with all data : bit.ly/worldswomen2020

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When it comes to female leadership and empowerment, modern-day icons like Malala, Hillary and even Beyoncé are quick to come to mind. (Not to mention Emma Watson, Michelle Obama and "Lean In" coach Sheryl Sandberg.) Fortunately, there are a lot more female leaders out there than common knowledge may suggest; from trailblazing politicians to dedicated activists. Below are merely 21 of them.
Merkel garnered the full spotlight when she was named TIME 's person of the year , but her notable acts go beyond gracing a magazine cover. Despite strong opposition, she opened Germany's doors to migrants during the Syrian refugee crisis.
Sirleaf is the first female president elected in Africa. She began her political career in 1972, with a scathing message against the oppressive government at her alma mater, then went on to work at the Treasury Department and later became its Minister of Finance. Although she was put on a 30-year ban from politics, she ran for president but lost to a political opponent accused of war crimes. She sent herself into exile for her own safety soon after. In 2006, she won the presidential election and was re-elected in 2011. She received a Nobel Peace Prize the same year, shared with Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman, for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."
Suu Kyi took on the role of opposition leader against Burmese dictator General Ne Win. Speaking out against him, she led a peaceful movement for democracy and human rights. She worked to spread democracy throughout Myanmar and founded the National League for Democracy. But in 1989, she was put on house arrest for 15 years to block her from communicating with the outside world. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and was released from house arrest in 2010. Today, she continues to vie for democracy in her country.
Bachelet is the first woman to serve as Chile's commander-in-chief. Her calling to the political realm was an unfortunate one, since both she and her father were tortured and exiled under Augusto Pinochet's dictatorial rule. Bachelet was sworn into her first term in 2006, and has been generally well-praised, especially after her handling of the global economic crisis in 2008. To top it off, she's also a pediatrician .
Known as the real-life Olivia Pope, Smith is the inspiration for the TV show Scandal . She's the CEO, founder and president of crisis management firm Smith & Company and has covered cases with Monica Lewinsky, Wesley Snipes, Michael Vick and Sony. She also assists in public policy work on issues like the housing crisis and education. Consider it handled.
Chair of the Federal Reserve, United States

Yellen is an award-winning economist and the first woman to head the Federal Reserve of the United States. (She succeeded Ben Bernanke in 2014.) She's a graduate of both Yale and Brown, and even President Obama has offered her his high praise. "She's a proven leader, and she's tough—not just because she's from Brooklyn," he said when he nominated her as Fed Chair in 2013.
Schmidt is the first female prime minister and leader of the Social Democrats in Denmark. During her term she loosened the strict, anti-immigration laws set forth by her predecessors. After stepping down, Schmidt took on the role of Chief Executive for the non-governmental organization, Save the Children , which promotes children's rights in developing nations.
Former Attorney General, United States
The Harvard graduate started her career in federal law in the early '90s, picking up positions at The Federal Reserve and as the District Attorney for New York. While serving the latter, Lynch oversaw preliminary investigations of potential corruption among FIFA officials. In 2015, President Obama appointed her to the position of Attorney General, making her the second woman and first African-American woman to hold the title.
Park's position as South Korea's first female president, among other accomplishments, earned her the #11 spot on Forbes ' Most Powerful Women list (and #43 overall). Though reeling back from the Sewol ferry sinking, which occurred during her term, Park spearheaded a free trade deal with Canada—reportedly the first of its kind between Canada and an Asian country.
Chairperson of the State Bank of India

Bhattacharya is the first woman to head the State Bank of India, which has been in existence for over 200 years. She's also revolutionizing the bank's male-dominant history with a female focus: by allowing women two-year sabbaticals for going on maternity leave or taking time off to care for family members. Since women are primarily the caregivers in Indian society, this relieves working women from the risk of losing their jobs for tending to their families.
President of Indian National Congress

Gandhi, the widow of former Indian Prime Minster Rajiv Gandhi, has long been a supporter of women's and human rights. Though she stayed out of the political limelight immediately following her husband's assassination in 1991, she later entered a career in politics, securing positions like President of the Congress . Today her focus is on passing the Women's Reservation Bill , which seeks to reserve 33% of the seats in lower house of Indian Parliament to women.
Managing director, International Monetary Fund

One of the most powerful women in the world—in fact ranked #6 by Forbes — French native Lagarde is a woman of many hats. She's credited as a lawyer, politician for the Union for a Popular Movement party and, since 2011, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn ). As the first woman to head the IMF, Lagarde is seeing the onset of a slight global upturn since the recent recession, and she's also helping the fund support female employment in order to avoid poverty and inequality.
Tsai Ing-Wen became Taiwan's first female president, after winning the January 2016 election by a huge lead—her votes almost doubled her opponent's. The Taipei-born leader doesn't hail for a political family, and actually began her career as a professor rather than a politician. Tsai is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, which supports independence from China, and has a history of being pro-poor, pro-women and pro-LGBTQ. She is ranked number 17 on Forbes' Most Powerful Women of 2016.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
May is the second female Prime Minister of the U.K. after Margaret Thatcher. She was elected into office in July 2016 as the leader of the Conservative Party, succeeding David Cameron, who resigned after the Brexit referendum. Since coming into office, some of her main efforts have included guiding the U.K.'s exit from the European Union and tightening immigration.
Kirchner, endearingly nicknamed CFK, is the second female president of Argentina , but the first to get re-elected. Her previous positions include National Deputy and National Senator for the South American country.
Wajed's father was the first president of Bangladesh, after vying for its separation from Pakistan in 1971. After entering politics in the '60s, Sheikh Hasina was his political liaison while he was imprisoned. In 1975, he was assassinated, along with Wajed's mother and three brothers. Now, she serves as Prime Minister (after being elected in 2009) and presides over one of the largest populations in the world. Wajed has supported democracy, promoted human rights and denounced violent military rule; but recently, she's been criticized for her response —or lack thereof—to hate crimes in the country.
Solberg has been the leader of the Conservative Party since 2004 and Prime Minister since 2013. She's the second female in the country to hold the latter position. Her beginnings in government, however, go bac
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